History Repeating
by banshee2732
Summary: Simon and his friends return to Hogwarts for their fifth year, expecting a year of hard work and painfully difficult O.. However, they are faced with a mysterious darkness that threatens to cause to the destruction of the wizarding world. Will Simon and his friends be able to stop another war from breaking out, or is history bound to repeat itself? Bad description, better story
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, readers. This is my first time writing for this website so I hope I live up to all of your expectations. I truly hope you all enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. The story starts off a bit slow, but I have a lot of ideas for it so please just bear with me. Thank you all so much for taking the time to read it, and enjoy :).**

"Simon...you have to wake up."

Simon's muddled dream was interrupted by someone gently shaking his arm. He slowly opened his eyes, blinking against the light that immediately met them. He turned to find one of his best friends, Nellie Redford, staring at him with a small smile on her face.

"We've arrived at Hogwarts." She told him as she stood up and began to gather her things. Simon nodded and stood as well, stretching out his stiff muscles. He noticed the others had gone ahead of them to grab a carriage. He followed Nellie out of the compartment and off the train, searching the bustling crowd for the rest of their group. They were already situated in a carriage, which were supposedly pulled by a magical creature called Thestrals. They apparently resembled something of a decaying Pegasus, but despite their unsettling appearance, were actual quite docile in nature. Simon stepped up onto the carriage, before turning and helping Nellie up. The Hufflepuff plopped down between Derek Duncan, who was a Slytherin and Tatiana Morrison, a Ravenclaw. Their group of friends was quite distinguished. Derek, Simon, and Marie Phillips were all Slytherins. Madeline Dumas was a Ravenclaw like Tatiana, while Nicholas Caudwell was in Gryffindor. Despite the fact that most Slytherins and Gryffindors usually had an incredibly hard time getting along, Simon had instantaneously gotten along with his two Gryffindor friends. Of course, he had been introduced to them through Nellie, who's judgment of people he trusted 100%. After all, she had taken the time to break through his defensive walls and earn the place as one of his most trusted friends.

"It's so nice to finally be back home." Nellie sighed, a grin spread across her face. Simon smiled and nodded in agreement, turning to look towards the slowly approaching castle.

"Summer lasted forever." Marie complained. Nicholas nodded in agreement, a frown on his face. Simon knew well that the two of them disliked being home, as both had problems getting along with their parents. It was because of this common ground that they were able to become friends. Nellie had made sure that Marie was introduced to Nicholas first, so that she would be more open-minded when befriending Madeline. It was mainly because of Nellie that they were all so close now. She had literally forced them to communicate with each other. Of course, they were all grateful for her persistence.

"I quite enjoyed my summer. Florida was quite wonderful. The beach was especially beautiful." Tatiana spoke up. Simon noticed her dark skin did seem a bit healthier, as an after affect of spending so much time in the sun.

"Is the beach nice? Did you see any sharks? Or dolphins?" Nellie asked excitedly, eyes sparkling with wonder. Nellie herself didn't come from the richest of families. Vacations for her were basically visiting one of their houses for a day or two. She had never complained though. She simply expressed a deeper interest in their own vacations whenever one of them happened to go on one.

"No, I didn't see either of those. They tend to swim in deeper waters, away from people." Tatiana responded with a small smile. Nellie frowned a bit, but quickly shook off her disappointment.

"What about you sleepy head? How was your summer?" Madeline asked, effectively directing everyone's attention to the brunet. He shrugged, not really knowing how to respond to their question. He hadn't done anything worth bragging about.

"Same as usual, I finished some homework, practiced Quidditch, hung out with you guys." He told them.

"So you did what you do every day." Derek pointed out with a smirk. Simon rolled his eyes at the raven-haired boy. Derek and Simon had started out hating each other. It wasn't until Nellie came along that they started getting along. Simon had never ceased to be amazed at how easily the blonde could see the good in everyone.

"Don't be such a smartass." Marie snapped at Derek, who simply shrugged.

"Smartass is Derek's middle name." Nicholas said, sending him a cheeky smile. Derek narrowed his eyebrows at the dark-haired boy, but didn't respond.

"To be honest, the same thing could be said about you." Nellie pointed out. Nicholas' smile only widened. He was fully aware of his own sarcastic and witty nature.

"Guys, we're here!" Madeline announced excitedly. They immediately made their way off the carriage, grabbing their extra luggage and following the rest of the students down the path towards the castle. Already, Simon could see the cozy yellow glow emitting from the castle, beckoning the students in for a warm welcome and a nice hot meal. Simon watched as Nellie and Madeline skipped, arm in arm, towards the castle, both overly excited to be back. Simon understood their excitement, though. He had no problem admitting that Hogwarts was, and always would be, his second home. In fact, he was almost positive that's how all of the students felt.

As they entered the dining hall, they each said their goodbyes and headed off to join their respective house table. Simon followed Derek and Marie to the Slytherin table, politely nodding his head in greeting to some of his other acquaintances. He took a seat across from Derek and watched as the rest of the students filed in. He couldn't help but find himself wondering who would be joining the Slytherin house this year. As the rest of the second-seventh years founds their seats and settled down, the first-years began to file into the room. Even from his seat, Simon could see the nervousness and excitement he had felt on his own first day of school clearly in their expressions. Headmaster Belius stepped onto the stage and cleared his throat to silence the dining hall. Immediately, all heads were turned towards him. He smiled warmly, his deep green eyes observing the students.

"Good evening, students. I'm always so warmed to see such a lively turnout of young pupils each and every year, both new and familiar. It makes an old man so very excited to see the next generation of wizard leaders present and ready to learn. I hope we all have a wonderful year filled with laughter, friends, and learning both together, and from each other. Without further ado, let the sorting ceremony commence." Belius finished his short speech with a clap of his hands, before stepping back to allow Professor Kechus to begin calling names.

"Rhonda Aileron." He called. A small girl with brown hair and freckles stepped onto the stage, making her way to the sorting hat. Despite her size, she walked with a certain confidence, and there wasn't a trace of fear on her face. The hat was placed onto her head, and was only there for a few moments before the hat called out "RAVENCLAW!". There was loud cheering from the Ravenclaw table as the girl strode over to join her new house, a large grin on her face.

"Molly Anders." A blonde girl stepped up next. The hat barely even grazed the top of her hair before calling out "HUFFLEPUFF!". Molly squealed in excitement and ran to join her house, almost tripping on her way there. Simon immediately knew Nellie would want to befriend her, as she actually had tripped after she had been sorted. After that, the sorting dragged on. Ten students in, nobody had been sorted into Slytherin. Simon found himself feeling quite disappointed. Finally, after the twelfth student went up, Professor Kechus called out "Jeremiah Khandor". A tall boy with sandy hair and icy blue eyes stepped onto the stage. He had the sorting hat on his head for quite some time before it finally called out "SLYTHERIN!". The table exploded in clapping and cheering as he made his way over to the table. He squeezed his way into the small space next to Simon.

"Hey Jeremiah, I'm Simon. Welcome to Slytherin." He said politely. The boy looked straight at him, his eyebrows furrowed as he observed Simon. After a solid minute, Jeremiah turned his gaze to the table without saying a word. Simon felt slightly put off by this and looked at Derek and Marie who simply shrugged. Simon frowned, looking at Jeremiah, who remained stone still staring at the table. Simon shrugged and turned his attention back to the ceremony. By the end of the sorting ceremony, four other students had been sorted into Slytherin. Headmaster Belius gave another short speech welcoming the new students to Hogwarts, before beginning the feast. Simon immediately dug into the turkey and mashed potatoes. The food was delicious, as always. He turned to look at Jeremiah, only to find he wasn't eating anything.

"You know, the food's really good." Simon told him. Jeremiah gave him a side glance, but picked up his fork and slowly began to place food onto his plate. Simon engaged in small talk with Derek and Marie as they finished dinner and enjoyed a slice of apple pie for dessert. After the meal was over, the houses made their way out of the Great Hall and towards their respective common rooms. Simon walked alongside Derek and Marie through the castle, towards the dungeons. He had missed the Slytherin common room. It wasn't exactly cozy, but in his opinion it was way cooler than any of the other common rooms. Once they were in the dungeons, the group arrived at a large stone wall and stopped moving.

"Alright listen up, Slytherins. This is the current password. If you don't hear what it is, it's a real shame for you." The head of the house, Peter McMahon, announced loud enough for everyone to hear. He turned towards the stone wall and in a voice just as loud as the one he had just used, called out "Potions". Simon heard Derek let out a small sigh of disappointment. He turned and gave him a questioning look.

"I was hoping it'd be something a little cooler." He explained with a displeased look on his face. Marie snorted at this, and Simon simply shook his head. The three made their way into the common room. The dimly lit room looked the same as it had the past four years Simon had been at Hogwarts. The black leather sofas, dark green armchairs, blazing emerald fire, skull decorations and dark wood cupboards. All of it was as neat and organized as always. Marie waved goodbye to the two before heading over to talk to Piper Garroway. Simon couldn't but stare at the tall brown-haired beauty.

"I reckon we should start unpacking." Derek sighed, breaking his attention away from her. Simon could tell Derek had no real desire to unpack, and he wasn't exactly jumping for joy at the idea either. However, it had to be done eventually, and it was better to get it out of the way now. Simon followed Derek into the boy's dormitory, where their luggage was already waiting for them at the edge of their beds. Simon sighed and flipped open his trunk, immediately getting down to folding and organizing. He had to make sure his clothes were separated into their respective groups. All of his shirts were folded neatly and color-coordinated. Derek, on the other hand, just shoved his clothes into his drawer in no particular order. It made Simon's OCD kick in, and he usually ended up organizing his drawers for him when he was sleeping. Derek would probably be mad about it for a few hours, but eventually get over it when he realized it was easier to find his clothes. Simon put his neatly folded and organized clothes into his dresser, before plopping down onto his four-poster bed. He hadn't realized how tired he was until he had laid down. He had slept half the train ride here, too.

"Phew, I'm exhausted." Derek huffed as he lay down on his own bed. Simon let out a small grunt of agreement.

"Cheers to a new year, Si." He said with a loud yawn.

"Cheers to a new year, Derek."

 **We've reached the end, yay! Of this chapter, anyways. Once again, thank you all so much for reading. This chapter was a bit on the short side, but I promise the next chapters will be longer. Comments and constructive criticism are always welcomed and encouraged. Thanks again! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello again, readers. If you actually decided to continue reading, thank you so so much, you don't know how much I appreciate it! I hope you all enjoyed the last chapter and are ready for a new one. Enjoy! :)**

Nellie hummed quietly as she tied her long, wavy blonde hair into a ponytail while simultaneously slipping on her black combat boots. She technically wasn't allowed to wear them with her uniform, but she managed to keep them partially hidden with her cloak. Besides, even if she did get caught, the school wasn't as strict with dress code as it used to be. She grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulders, before leaving the girl's dormitory and entering the common room. The yellow-walled room was warmly lit and the room was buzzing with activity. Her closest friend in Hufflepuff, Hailey Bennett, sat in a plush armchair seated directly next to a Flitterbloom, which was swaying and waving its long tentacles around. She was currently engrossed in their Care of Magical Creatures textbook. One of the reasons why she and Hailey had been fast friends was because they shared an interest in both plants and animals. Hailey looked up upon hearing someone approaching and smiled as Nellie plopped down in the armchair next to her.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long." Nellie said apologetically. The ginger girl smiled and shook her head, closing her book and placing it back in her bag.

"No, I wasn't waiting long at all. Besides, the book kept me perfectly entertained." She replied as the two girls stood. Nellie grinned and followed her out of the common room. They walked past the kitchens, stopping briefly to savor the delicious aromas.

"Mmm…there's going to be bacon with breakfast. That's how you know today is going to be a good day." Nellie pointed out. Hailey snorted and rolled her eyes at this. She herself was a vegetarian, but she didn't make any comments on the blonde's food preference. The two girls continued to walk towards the Great Hall, making small talk along the way.

"I'm really excited about our lessons on magical creatures. I may even consider being the next professor, if they'll have me." Hailey said with an excited grin on her face.

Nellie nodded in agreement, taking a seat next to a second-year boy named Jimmy Marshall. He was busy chatting up Molly, the new girl who reminded Nellie a great deal of herself.

"Good morning, you two." The blonde greeted as she fixed herself a bowl of fresh fruits and a side plate of bacon.

"Mornin', Nell." Jimmy greeted with his heavy country accent. Molly smiled shyly and gave her a small wave.

"Here's your schedules you two. Don't forget, classes start at 8." The head of the house, Lillian Voss, said with a friendly smile as she handed Nellie and Hailey their timetables. Nellie thanked her before turning her attention back to her schedule.

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

History of Magic

w/ Gryffindor

Charms

W/Ravenclaw

Free period

Potions

w/Slytherin

Ancient Runes

w/Gryffindor

Herbology

w/ Slytherin

Transfiguration

W/Slytherin

Transfiguration

w/Gryffindors

Potions

w/Slytherin

Ancient Runes

w/Gryffindor

Charms

w/Ravenclaw

Care of Magical Creatures

w/Ravenclaw

Herbology

w/ Slytherin

Defense Against the

Dark Arts

w/Slytherin

Divination

w/Ravenclaw

Defense Against the Dark Arts

w/ Gryffindor

Potions

w/Slytherin

Care of Magical Creatures

w/Ravenclaw

Defense Against the Dark Arts

w/Slytherin

Divination w/Ravenclaw

Astronomy

w/ Slytherin

Nellie observed her schedule, satisfied with her classes.

"We have a lot of classes with Slytherin." Hailey pointed out.

"Maybe it's 'cause we're the only house that can actually put up with 'em." Jimmy pointed out, sending his own schedule a pointed look.

"Jimmy, might I remind you that I have quite a few friends who are in Slytherin." Nellie responded, trying not to sound annoyed. The sandy-haired boy only shrugged and turned back to his toast.

"It's alright, Nellie. He knows they're not all bad. He's just grumpy because he has to go to class at all." Molly piped up with a small grin. Jimmy furrowed his eyebrows at this, which Nellie laughed at.

"Thanks Molly. I'm sure you'll make a few friends from Slytherin too." The blonde told her with a cheeky grin. After Nellie finished her breakfast, she excused herself from the table and made her way over to the Slytherin table. The house had stopped questioning her presence at their table a while ago and barely spared her a second glance when she plopped down next to Simon. Derek was seated across from them, his head on the table.

"Morning blues?" She said with a small smirk, already piling food onto the raven-haired boy's empty plate.

"He complained about having to wake up so early the whole way here." Simon huffed. Nellie quirked one of her eyebrows at his irritated tone. It seemed some of Derek's annoyance had made its way to him. She picked up a fork and prodded Derek's arm with it, rousing him from his futile attempt at extra sleep. He took the fork from her and dug into the food without even questioning how it had gotten onto his plate. After all, this had become sort of a first day of school-slash-Monday routine for the two.

"Where's Marie?" She asked, suddenly aware of the missing presence.

"She's with Piper." Simon responded. Nellie didn't miss the faint blush that crept onto his cheeks as he said this, but didn't say anything about it. She was the only person who knew about his major crush on the Slytherin beauty, and quite frankly she wished he would grow a pair and just tell her already.

"Nell, what time did you wake up?" Derek asked.

"6:45." She responded, grabbing a piece of toast and nibbling on it. Derek turned his attention to Simon, an irritated look on his face.

"See? I told you, just because breakfast starts at 6:30, it does not mean we have to be here right as the doors open." He snapped. Nellie snorted at this, but immediately pulled a straight face when Derek turned his glare on her. His expression softened almost immediately, despite his best effort to remain looking peeved. She knew he could never actually be mad with her.

"Can't Nell just wake me up every morning?" He asked as he angrily stabbed at his eggs.

"First of all, she doesn't know the password to get into the Slytherin common room, nor is anyone going to tell her. Second of all, even if she did, girls aren't allowed in the boy's dormitory. You're out of luck." Simon responded with a smirk. Nellie shrugged with an apologetic look on her face. Disappointment flashed across Derek's face for only a second.

"Oh yeah, let me see your timetable." Derek exclaimed, already forgetting about his irritation towards being tired. Nellie handed over her schedule, shaking her head in amusement. His eyes quickly scanned the paper, and he let out a sigh of relief.

"We have all of the Slytherin-Hufflepuff classes together. Simon, however, only has doubles with us." Derek told her, handing back her schedule. She couldn't help the small sigh of disappointment that left her mouth.

"Does that mean you're going to be copying all of my Herbology notes, again?" She asked. Derek flashed a cheeky grin.

"Absolutely." He confirmed. It was Simon's turn to let out an amused chuckle at the pair.

"Nellie, you should just take it as a compliment that he's always using your notes." A new voice piped in. Nellie turned to find Marie sliding into the spot next to her, a small smile on her face.

"I would be flattered; if he didn't think I was dumb enough not to notice that he copies everything word for word." Nellie replied, sending the raven-haired boy a pointed look. He had the gall to look offended himself.

"I do not think you're dumb. I thought you knew I'm just too lazy to summarize. Besides, I'm a Slytherin. It's not like we value fair play or anything." He pointed out. Nellie rolled her eyes at him, before turning to Marie.

"So, how's Piper doing? Did you ask if she wanted to come join us?" The blonde asked, smiling as non-creepily as she could. She could hear Simon shift in his seat as he tried to get a bit closer. Marie raised a questioning eyebrow, before simply shrugging.

"She's fine, same old Piper. Oh, she did mention breaking up with Tyler Borden over the summer. She's better off without him, in my opinion." She said, drawing her lips together. Nellie couldn't help the grin that spread across her face. Now Simon was free to pursue the girl of his dreams without having to worry about being a home wrecker. He must have felt the same way, because when she turned to look at him, there was a small smirk on his face.

"It's 7:40, guys. I think we should start heading to class." Marie stated, already getting up without waiting for a response from the rest of them. The other three looked at each other and shrugged, following behind her. Upon their standing, the other three members of their group rose from their seats at the Ravenclaw table as well, rushing over to join them.

"Hey Nell, we have first period together!" Nicholas exclaimed as the smaller group caught up. The brunet put an arm around the shorter girl's shoulders and ruffled her hair.

"Guess that means I'll be able to sneak a peek at your notes, right?" He said hopefully, using his free hand to poke her in the side. Nellie stopped walking and slowly turned to look him in the eye.

"No." She said flatly. Nicholas' mouth dropped open, and remained hanging there like a detached limb as she continued walking. She wasn't being completely unfair. Derek did his work on his own in all of his other classes. He just wasn't very big on Herbology. Nicholas however, wouldn't do any of his work had he not been forced to. He would ask even a random stranger for their notes, or the answers to the homework, before he finally resorted to doing it himself.

Nellie wasn't about to be the reason he became a complete bum.

History of Magic had always been an intriguing class to Nellie. Of course, she didn't find it anywhere near as compelling as Care of Magical Creatures or Herbology. But it was definitely one of her third favorites. She found learning about the war against the Dark Lord, Lord Voldemort, particularly fascinating. After all, a boy not much older than her was the one who ended up defeating him. The lesson on it was quite brief, and it seemed to be a touchy subject whenever she asked more about it during or after class. She could understand why though. She was well aware of the fact that the battle had taken place at Hogwarts, and that many people had been lost during the war. She often found herself feeling sad if she were standing in a certain spot on the grounds. Like something horrible had happened there a long time ago. Nellie shook the depressing thoughts out of her head and turned her attention back to the board. Thinking about something that happened decades ago wasn't going to help her with tonight's homework.

Professor Mulberry dragged on and on about Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, one of the most famous headmasters of Hogwarts. Nellie already knew a great deal about him. He had died only a short time before the war, and he was supposedly very close with Harry Potter, or otherwise known as, "The boy who lived". It was all very interesting, really. Or at least, for her it was. Nellie turned to see Nicholas passed out next to her, his soft snores barely audible to anyone but her. She fought the urge to kick him in the leg, and instead gave his shoulder a soft nudge. He ignored her persistent shaking and turned his head away from her. Nellie let out a defeated sigh and slumped in her chair. If he wanted to fail his fifth year, there wasn't much she could do about it.

Nellie didn't hold back on ranting about how Nicholas was going to fail school as they made their way towards their next period. Eventually, they had to split up, much to Nicholas' relief. He gave her a quick hug goodbye before literally sprinting away from her. The blonde fumed as she made her way towards her next class, which was Herbology. When she got there, Derek was already there, glaring at anyone who tried taking the spot next to him. She made her way over to him and set her bag down on the floor next to him.

"So, how was your first class?" She asked, looking up at him. He rolled his dark hazel orbs and let out a huff of irritation.

"I spent my first class with Madeline. How do you think it went?" He responded. Nellie held back a laugh and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. She was fully aware of how horribly those two get along. She was a very blunt person with little to no filter on her, and she had quite a large ego. Something Derek did not like.

"You just have to accept her for her quirks. Nobody's perfect. It's what makes them human." She told him. He shrugged, but she could tell he saw her point. Professor Longbottom, a petite woman with pale blonde hair and an airy personality, began handing out a single pot filled with dirt to the groups. Nellie had found out in her first year that Professor Longbottom's great grandfather had actually served a large role in the war, and had also served as the Herbology professor before her. Unfortunately, he had passed away about 11 years ago. It was really a shame. Nellie would have loved to talk to him about the war, to learn more about what happened. She'd heard he'd been quite the professor as well. Of course, so was the current professor.

"What in Merlin's name are these for?" Derek muttered, prodding at the deep brown soil. There was a small pile of carrots directly next to the pot. Nellie immediately slapped his hand away, giving him a disapproving look.

"You've been taking Herbology for four years now. You should know very well that touching anything here without being instructed to do so is extremely hazardous." She hissed. He raised an eyebrow, a smirk creeping onto his face.

"Concerned for my safety, are you?" He teased. Nellie blushed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Fine, go ahead and poke it. If you lose a finger, don't come crying to me." She snapped in annoyance. Derek just chuckled and shook his head. Professor Longbottom cleared her throat, making the two turn their attention towards her.

"Today, class, we will be learning about the Chinese Chomping Cabbage. The name is relatively self-explanatory. It's a cabbage that has a mouth, which it uses to chomp vegetables such as carrots. However, if you aren't careful today, that carrot can easily become one of your fingers, so do use extreme caution." Professor Longbottom warned, sending a pointed look towards Derek. Nellie held back a laugh when she saw his stunned expression, which he quickly covered up with an unimpressed one.

"She's just saying that to get on my nerves." Derek murmured. Nellie shook her head, before turning back to Professor Longbottom.

"Now, I will be passing out fully grown Chomping Cabbage's to each group. Once you have your cabbage, please do not touch it until instructed to do so. Failure to listen will result in immediate removal from the classroom." She said as she began placing seemingly perfectly ordinary cabbages in front of the groups. Or at least, they seemed normal until their cabbage split almost in half and let out a loud yawn. Nellie giggled and resisted the urge to give it a pat on the head.

"I don't know why you're laughing. This looks like it came straight out of one of those cartoons your sister watches." Derek commented, a perplexed look on his face. Nellie lifted one of her eyebrows at him, surprised he remembered what kind of cartoons Kelsey watched, let alone what a cartoon even was.

"Veggie tales, you mean?" She asked with a small smile.

"Yeah, that. She made me sit through a whole thirty minutes of that rubbish." He sighed, shuddering at the memory. Nellie smiled, not offended in the slightest that he called it rubbish. She knew he didn't mean it. She remembered walking into the living room to find him curled up on the couch with a passed out Kelsey, absolutely fascinated with her muggle devices.

"Alright students, listen up. Your job today is to safely remove the Chomping Cabbage from its current pot, to the soil-filled pot. In order to do so, you will have to make sure the Cabbage's mouth is already preoccupied with one of the vegetables you'll find in front of you. Remember to be careful, but don't be too slow. They finish eating quite fast, and they're easily distressed. Alright, good luck students, you may begin." She concluded her instructions with a flourish of her hands. Nellie picked up one of the carrots and carefully slipped it into the Cabbage's mouth.

"Alright Derek, you start digging up some room for the roots to go and I'll move the Cabbage into its spot." Nellie instructed. Derek, having been Herbology partners with her for quite some time and knowing full well how she did things, had already begun digging. Slowly and gently, Nellie began lifting the cabbage out of its pot. It stopped chewing for a moment, making a weird gargling noise, before eventually going back to gnawing on the carrot. Nellie bit her lip as she slowly moved the cabbage to the other pot, noticing with slight worry that the carrot was already almost gone.

"I'm going to quickly slide another carrot into its mouth, alright?" Derek told her, picking up the orange vegetable and quickly shoving it into the cabbage's mouth. Nellie let out a small sigh of relief. She had the cabbage hovering over the pot of soil now and gently lowered it into the pot. The two of them packed the soil in around the cabbage, before stepping back so that Professor Longbottom could come and observe their handiwork.

"A job very well done, you two." She praised with an airy smile, before moving on to observe other group's progress.

"Yeah, hear that, Nell? I did a job very well done." Derek said with a smirk. Nellie rolled her eyes at this. She had done most of the work, but she didn't want to take away his bragging rights.

"Yes Derek, yes you did." She replied with a quick pat on his arm.

Nellie stared at the cabbage, which had already finished its second carrot. Nellie picked up the third and last one and placed it gently in its mouth.

"I'm really excited about our lessons on magical creatures. I may even consider being the next professor, if they'll have me."

Hailey's words from that morning replayed in her head as she observed the greenhouse. She hadn't given her future much thought, but the sense of intrigue and peace she got from Herbology made her wonder. She couldn't imagine life after Hogwarts, because she couldn't imagine the school no longer being a part of her everyday life. Being a professor here didn't seem like too bad of an idea, and if she had children of her own she'd be able to keep an eye of them. Of course, that may be thinking a little too far ahead. Nellie's lips tugged up in a slight grin at the thought of her teaching her own Herbology class. Her eyes wandered over to professor Longbottom who, much to her surprise was already staring at her. There was a knowing look on her face, and the way her mouth was slightly quirked up at the end gave her expression a sense of mischief. It was like she had been reading Nellie's mind, and this was her way of telling her that becoming the next Herbology teacher was the right path to take. Nellie smiled softly and looked at the floor. She knew one thing for sure, and it was that she would definitely keep an open mind towards having a future teaching at Hogwarts.

 **Okeedokee, that's the end of chapter 2. I hope you guys enjoyed it and will still with me for the next one. Remember, comments and constructive criticism are always welcome. Until next time!**


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